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Exploring Mesoamerican Cultures and History

This quiz tests your knowledge of Mesoamerican cultures, their significance, and historical contributions. Understand key elements and terms related to the civilizations within this vibrant region.

#Mesoamerica #Pipil #Ch'orti' #Maya #Culture #History #Archaeology #Medicine

1 The Pipil resided in ________, while the Ch'orti' were in eastern Guatemala and northwestern Honduras.

2 Other animals, including the duck, ________,[citation needed] dogs, and turkey were domesticated.

3 Archaic sites include Sipacate in Escuintla, Guatemala, where ________ pollen samples date to ca.

4 ________ were common public monuments throughout Mesoamerica, and served to commemorate notable successes, events and dates associated with the rulers and nobility of the various sites.

5 Sea shells from both coastal areas were used as ________ during the Preclassic[citation needed].

6 These included the two solstices and the two ________ which could be thought of as the four "directional pillars" that support the year.

7 It should be noted, however, that earlier maize samples have been documented at the Los Ladrones cave site in ________, ca.

8 While generally concentrating within the area in and around the Puuc hills, the style has been documented as far away as at ________ to the east and Edzna to the south.

9 Outside of the northern Maya lowlands, ________ are common throughout Mesoamerica.

10 In the field of medicine there were two schools: one was the ________ tradition, where shaman is understood as being a priestly healer who dealt with certain ailments, the most common of which was the loss of the soul.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • the cult of Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya feathered serpent deity, was the first Mesoamerican religion to transcend earlier linguistic and ethnic divisions.
  • the conical step pyramids (reconstruction pictured) and circular public architecture of ancient Mexico's Teuchitlan tradition were unique in Mesoamerica.
  • the important Mesoamerican archaeological site of Cara Sucia in El Salvador was severely damaged by looters after the Land Reform Programme of 1980.
  • the important Early Classic Mesoamerican city of Montana, in Guatemala, was a colony founded by the distant metropolis of Teotihuacan, in Mexico.
  • the use of speech scrolls (example pictured) developed independently in European and Mesoamerican art.
  • the powerful Early Classic Mesoamerican city of Balberta, in Guatemala, abruptly collapsed around AD 400.
  • the archaeological cave of Juxtlahuaca contains Mesoamerica's earliest sophisticated painted art (pictured), as well as its only known example of non-Maya deep cave art.
  • the Classic Period Mesoamerican archaeological site of Bilbao on the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala, features a significant amount of sculpture with ballgame imagery.
  • Votan, a legendary figure from Mesoamerica, has been erroneously identified with the Norse god Odin and the Mayan ruler Pacal the Great, among others, despite a lack of evidence.
  • potbelly sculpture is a crude non-Maya sculptural style distributed along the Pacific slope of southern Mesoamerica and dating to the Preclassic Period.
  • Xochipala-style figurines (pictured) are considered some of the earliest and most naturalistic in Mesoamerica.
  • although the Spanish introduced barley-based beer in Mexico, various Mesoamerican cultures had a corn-based fermented drink which is still made today.
  • the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Quelepa in eastern El Salvador was distinguished by its unusual ramped pyramids.
  • the 1300 identified Mesoamerican ballcourts used for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame (see drawing) were all built in the same basic shape despite a span of 2700 years.
  • La Mojarra Stela 1 (pictured), a 4-ton artifact of the Epi-Olmec culture, features a Mesoamerican ruler and appears to record his ritual bloodletting and a "dripping sacrifice".
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